Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced that Mitchell Savard (age 43), of Woonsocket was found guilty on November 1, 2019 by a Providence County Superior Court jury of one count of reckless driving, death resulting and one count of reckless driving, serious bodily injury resulting. The jury returned the verdict after four hours of deliberation following a four-day trial presided over by Superior Court Justice Maureen B. Keough.
A sentencing hearing for Savard will be scheduled for a later date in Providence County Superior Court. He is currently being held at the Adult Correctional Institutions.
During the trial, the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that during the morning of March 30, 2017, Savard became involved in a road rage incident while traveling on Interstate 295 and caused a fatal multi-vehicle accident. Eric Salazar was killed in the accident and his passenger Andy Salgado was seriously injured.
That morning, Savard was traveling north on Interstate 295 in the area of Johnston, when he passed into the middle lane in front of a tow truck. The operator of the tow truck honked his horn at Savard, who then abruptly braked in the middle lane, coming to a complete stop. Savard's sudden breaking caused a chain reaction where the tow truck and following traffic were forced to stop and/or swerve to avoid a collision.
Eric Salazar was driving a box truck traveling behind the tow truck and was unable to stop in time to avoid a collision. The box truck crashed into the back of the tow truck, killing Eric Salazar and seriously injuring his passenger, Andy Salgado.
Sergeant Jeff L'Heureux and Detective Robert Hopkins of the Rhode Island State Police led the investigation into the case. Assistant Attorney General Jay Sullivan and Special Assistant Attorney General Jessica Villella prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General.
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